Christmas carols

The Holy Spirit made it known to Simeon that he would not die before he had seen God’s Chosen One.

- Luke 2:26 (NLV)

 

What is your favorite part of the Christmas season?

Is it the lights and decorations, the parties and food or the gifts and time spent with family?

Ask me this and I will give you a different answer every day, but singing is likely to be my answer most of the time.

Let’s look at a few verses of a hymn written in the 17^th or 18^th century that we often sing as a carol:

O come, O come, Immanuel,

and ransom captive Israel

that mourns in lonely exile here

until the Son of God appear.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Immanuel

shall come to you, O Israel.

. . .

O come, O Bright and Morning Star,

and bring us comfort from afar!

Dispel the shadows of the night

and turn our darkness into light.

. . .

O come, O King of nations, bind

in one the hearts of all mankind.

Bid all our sad divisions cease

and be yourself our King of Peace.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Immanuel

shall come to you, O Israel.

Simeon was waiting to meet the Messiah, as he had been promised by God that he would not die until that happened.

I wonder, did Simeon sing a song like this?
Do we sing this song in anticipation of Christ’s return? 

I think that we should.  

 

#dailybreadbykitty

Daily Inspiration from the Bible

 

truly glad

So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world. You love Him even though you have never seen Him. Though you do not see Him now, you trust Him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. The reward for trusting Him will be the salvation of your souls.

- 1 Peter 1:6-9 (NLT)

 

How do you remain joyful this Christmas season when your heart is full of hurt?

Everyone has trials; it is all in how you handle it.

I don’t believe that there is one person reading this that has not been ill, lost a friend or a loved one, or had some sort of tragedy in their life. 

As we fight these battles we can go running to His arms when the storms are too strong to bear.

The trials are bad but know that there is joy after the pain.

So many crazy things have happened in my life, I simply cannot believe that God has not had a hand in each thing and has brought me through so many fires without me being terribly burned. 

So maybe I can’t see Him, but I sure know He is there. 

And that keeps my joy overflowing.

It seems to be human nature to be unhappy, you see it in almost every face.

But keep sharing the Gospel – we don’t know when something we say might be that spark that starts a flame burning in someone’s heart and leads them to God.

Don’t pressure them, threaten them or stop being their friend, honestly, don’t even try to change their mind, but instead, live as an example, let them see Christ in you.

An anonymous person is quoted as saying “I believe in the sun even if it isn’t shining. I believe in love even when I am alone. I believe in God even when He is silent.”

There is joy in everything, you can find it if you look hard enough, and be truly glad that you know there is joy ahead.

 

#dailybreadbykitty

Daily Inspiration from the Bible

 

the pink candle

As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.

- Luke 1:44 (NIV)

 

This week is week three of Advent where the pink candle, representing joy, is lit.
This week celebrates the joy of Christ coming to earth. 
We highlight the joy that the shepherds felt when they heard the news about the birth of Christ.
Like the happiness that a child might experience when they unwrap a gift that they’d hoped for on Christmas Day, it is an extreme happiness that cannot be deterred by present circumstances.

This type of joy comes from God alone.

We have joy because of our faith.

But we always have a choice.
We can choose to live with anger, resentment and fear or we can choose joy. 
Joy is trusting when you want to doubt, receiving what you want to reject, celebrating when you want to fear.

God will take care of us, no matter what happens, it is a pleasure for Him to fill us with joy.

This week I encourage you to choose joy.

Share with someone one thing that you are trusting God to handle.

Encourage someone who is experiencing fear and worry by writing a note, let them know you are praying for them and God will give them the courage they need.

Evaluate what brings you joy, make a list!

Make time and space to share a meal and fun to enjoy Christmas with others.

Pray that others can see the Joy of Christ in you.

 

#dailybreadbykitty

Daily Inspiration from the Bible

joy

 Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!

- Philippians 4:4 (NKJV)

 

I find it interesting when I look back at my writing through the years that I have referenced this verse at both Christmas and Easter.
Christmas because we find unspeakable joy in celebrating the birth of our King. 
Easter because we find unspeakable joy in celebrating our risen King. 
In 2009 Chris Tomlin released a version of Joy to the World that includes unspeakable joy:
Joy to the world, the Lord is come

Let earth receive her King

Let every heart prepare Him room

And Heaven and nature sing

And Heaven and nature sing

And Heaven, and Heaven and nature sing

Joy to the world, the Savior reigns

That all their songs employ

While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains

Repeat the sounding joy

Repeat the sounding joy

Repeat, repeat the sounding joy

Joy, unspeakable joy

And overflowing where no tongue can tell

Joy, unspeakable joy

Rises in my soul, never lets me go

He rules the world with truth and grace

And makes the nations prove

The glories of His righteousness

And wonders of His love

And wonders of His love

And wonders, wonders of His love

Joy, unspeakable joy

And overflowing where no tongue can tell

Joy, unspeakable joy

Rises in my soul, never lets me go

We have many reasons to rejoice in the Lord.

Joy is not just an emotion, joy is deep rooted, and can be amazingly simple.

As simple as a light fluffy snowfall with huge flakes.

As simple as the light in a child’s face when they discover something new.

As simple as the soft and gentle purr of a kitten in your lap.

Joy can be found in the most dire situation, as the apostle Paul showed us when he encouraged his followers to rejoice, even while he was being beaten and tortured and in prison.

True joy, is not just an emotion, but a state of well-being.

For every bit of trouble or anger in your life, I challenge you to find something in that event that brings joy.

 

#dailybreadbykitty

Daily Inspiration from the Bible

peacemakers

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

- Matthew 5:9 (NKJV)

 

Peace seems to be a repeating theme this year.

I love that we are told that Jesus is the Prince of Peace and that with Jesus coming there will be peace.
That we lie beside peaceful waters in the 23^rdPsalm. 

The word peace is mentioned in the Bible over 400 times, and you know what I say about God repeating Himself.

We need to hear it.

We need peace.

We need to BE the peace.  
A response was posted to my “daily bread” Monday titled “peace on earth”: 

PEACE is an impossible term for humanity. The only way it is achievable is to have everyone look, dress, and think alike.  There can be no freedom of choice or speech.  That is the only way to achieve real peace. So, stop this nonsensical idea of peace on earth. For most, the only peace we will know is after we are dead and gone.

I believe that peace begins with us.

We must have inner peace, peace within ourselves before there will be peace in our beyond ourselves.
I responded to that comment with Matthew 19:28 (NIV) With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.
Jesus, Son of the Living God was sent to us as the Prince of Peace, and here on earth we are to learn that as peacemakers we will be called sons of God.

We can stop the madness around us, but we can only do it with the grace of our Father.

Lean on Him, and start making changes in our world by making changes within ourselves.

 

#dailybreadbykitty

Daily Inspiration from the Bible

refreshing

 A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.

- Proverbs 11:25 (NIV)

 

As we get closer to Christmas, we begin to hear more about those who are in need this holiday season.

It is heartbreaking, really, and the needs are not always financial.

I once approached a co-worker’s desk to get information from them.

The precise moment I got to their desk, the person finished a telephone call where disturbing news was delivered. 

We talked, we cried, we comforted, we prayed.

When I got ready to leave, the person commented that I had arrived at the perfect time, because they really needed someone to listen.   

God knows when you are needed.

The VOICE translation of this verse reads A giving person will receive much in return, and someone who gives water will also receive the water he needs.

We are the water that some people need.

The Bible says that the action of giving to others sets into motion a sense of satisfaction.

If your heart is heavy this season, maybe give a little of yourself to someone in need.

A smile, a kind word, you never know when that is the very gift that someone is seeking.

 

#dailybreadbykitty

Daily Inspiration from the Bible

 

unexpected visitors

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.

- Luke 2:8 (NIV)

 

It has been said that being a shepherd is a rather boring job, but it is not for the faint of heart.
Although it might seem peaceful to lead obedient sheep across a green pasture, shepherding is hard work.

Shepherds have to watch the herds constantly to protect them from predators.
So, imagine their shock and surprise when they received an unexpected visitor one night.   

In the middle of a quiet night, suddenly an angel appeared, and then, as if they weren’t frightened enough, a whole bunch of angels appeared and they were singing!
The natural instinct of a sheep is to flee when they perceive danger, but I think that the sheep that night did not flee.

If the sheep would have started running, the shepherds would have gone after them and missed an important message from the unexpected visitor.
Are we sheep? 
Are we turning in running, or are we listening for the announcement of Jesus coming back to the world?
We are probably not going to be in the middle of a field surrounded by sheep when Jesus comes back.

But I hope we hear the angels singing on that day.

 

#dailybreadbykitty

Daily Inspiration from the Bible